Fluid torque converter gear transmission



w. L. POLLARD FLUID TORQUE CONVERTER GEAR TRANSMISSION Filed March ,15,1954 Sept. 9, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 uQWQVNO Sept. 9, 1958 w. L. POLLARDFLUID TORQUE CONVERTER GEAR TRANSMISSION Filed March 15, 1954 5Sheets-Sheet 2 WWW/AR 6.9 v I N V EN TOR. I %%%Z7%%K Sept. 9, 1958 w. LPOLLARD ,9 FLUID' TORQUE CONVERTER GEAR 'mnsmssxon Filed March 15, 1954r 5 Sheets-Sheet s uvmvron FLUID TORQUE CONVERTER GEAR TRANSMISSIONWillard L. Pollard, Evanston, Ill.

Application March 15, 1954, Serial No. 416,369

3 Claims. (Cl. 74 645) This application is a continuation-in-part of mycopending application Serial No. 344,703, filed March 26, 1953, which isa continuation of. my previous application .Serial No. 140,615, filedJanuary 26, 1950.

My invention relates tofluid torque converter gear transmissions.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide an improvedtransmission of this type which will give an ex- I tremely high startingtorque with an infinitesimally variable speed ratio from this highstarting torque up to fluid coupling, without any jerk.

A further object of my invention is to provide such a transmission whichwill greatly improve a .considerable extent of the lower portion of theelliciency and torque curves of the transmission.

A further object of my invention is to provide such a transmission inwhich the hydraulic torque converter may be of a conventional type andin which the clutch and brake and planetary constructionsmay be ofconventional "tyr .the combine will be driven at substantiallyconstantsyn- ,chronous speed and the vehicle will .be driven at an automaticallyinfinitesimally variable speed and with. an automaticallyinfinitesimally variable torque from the constant speed engine by meansof a hydraulic torque converter.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from thedescription and claims. A In the drawings, in which several forms of myinvention are shown,

Fig. l is an axial vertical cross section of a transm ssion embodying myinvention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical axial cross section showing another form oftransmission;

Fig. 2 is a vertical axial cross section showing another form oftransmission;

i Fig. 3 is a vertical axial cross section showing another form oftransmission; r

a Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view indicating the various positions which acontroller may take in controlling the transmission of Fig. 2

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view showing the variouspositions which acontroller may take incontrolling the transmission of Fig. 2: i

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view showing various positions which acontroller may take in controlling the transmission of Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is a vertical axial cross section showing diagrammaticallyanother form of transmission;

Fig. 8 isa chart showing various curves;

Fig.9 is a diagrammatic view of an improvedcombim- United States Patent()7 described above.

Patented Sept. 9, 1958 tion of a combine and torque converter in whichthe internal combustion engine and the cylinder of the combine will bedriven at an automatically infinitesimally variable speed and with anautomatically infinitesimally variable torque from the constant speedengine by means of a hydraulic torque converter, and

Fig. 10 is a diagrammatic view showing another form.

Referring first to Fig. 1, the construction shown therein comprises ahydraulic torque converter 1, a planetary transmission 2 and associatedparts. V The hydraulic torque converter comprises a pump rotor 3 whichmaybe driven direct from the motor, a turbine rotor l4 secured to acentral drive shaft 5, a primary reaction rotor .6 keyed to a'tubularshaft 7 surrounding the central shaft 5 and provided with a sun gear 8rotatable therewith, .and a secondary reaction stator rotor 9 secured toa tubular shaft 10 surrounding the tubular shaft 7 and held againstrotation reverse to the pump rotor by means of a oneway anchorage device11. The primary reaction rotor 6 acts as a driving turbinerotorrotatable initially in a direction reverse to that of the pumprotor 3. A clutch 12 is provided which may be used for connecting theturbine rotor 4 to the pump rotor 3 to eliminate the torque converteraction for direct drive. The action of this clutch may be controlled bya centrifugal force governor 13 rotatable with and controlled by thespeed of the shaft 10 secured to the secondary stator rotor 9. i

The planetary gearing comprises the sun gear 8, a ring gear 14connectible and disconnectible with respect to the turbine shaft 5 bymeans of a manually controllable clutch '15, a gear carrier 16 heldagainst rotation inthe direction of the pump rotor 3 by means of aone-way anchorage device 17, and held against any rotation whatever bymeans of a manually controllable brake 18, and planet gea'rs 1 9rotatably mounted on the gear carrier on stub shafts 20 and meshing withthe sun gear 8 and ring gear 14. Suitable anti-friction bearings 21 maybe 'proyided between the central shaft 5 and the pump rotor 3.

.In use, assuming that the transmission is used in a motor vehicle andthat the rnotor vehicle is standing still, the

pump rotor 3 will cause forward rotation of the turbine rotor 4 and willexert a reverse rotational force on the primary and secondary reactancerotors 6 and 9]. The reverse torque on the secondary rotor 9 which isheld against reverse rotation by the one-way anchor 11 will cause acorresponding increase in the forward torque on the turbine 4. Thereverse rotational torque exerted on the primary reaction rotor 6 willexert a corresponding reverse rotational force on the sun gear 8 whichwill causea greatly increased forward rotational torque to be exerted onthe ring gear 14, since the gear carrier 16 is held against rotation bythe one-way anchorage device 17. It is assumed that in forward drive thering gear which drives the propeller shaft is also connected with theturbine shaft 5 by means of the clutch 15. The combined torque on thepropeller shaft will therefore be the torque exerted by the turbinerotor 4 plus the torque exerted on the ring gear 14 by the reverserotation of the primary reactance rotor as Typical curves such as mightbe secured by the torque converter shown with the primary reactancerotor held against reverse rotation by a oneway anchorage member, ascompared with the construction actually shown in Fig. 1, are shown inFig. 8. I As there indicated, applicants construction may givesubstantially twice the original starting torque with an infinitesimally.variable speed ratio from its high starting torque up to exertedthereon because of the disconnection of the clutch 15. For reverse thebrake 18 is applied by suitable manual controls. Under these conditions,since the pump and the three rotors 4, 6 and 9 are acting as a fluidcoupling flywheel, the primary reaction rotor 6 will act as a fluidcoupling member of the flywheel and will cause forward rotation thereofand of the sun gear rotatable therewith. This will cause reverserotation of the ring the gear carrier is held against rotation.

In going down a steep hill, the accelerator pedal will usually bereleased and the vehicle will have to drive the motor rather than themotor driving the vehicle. Under these conditions, in order to preventthe vehicle from going too fast downhill, an additional retarding actionis brought into play by making the transmission so that if a certainspeed is exceeded and the accelerator pedal is released, the brake willbe applied. This application of the brake 18 will cause the forwardrotation of the ring gear 14 to cause a high speed reverse rotation ofthe sun gear 8 and a consequent high speed reverse rotation of theprimary reaction rotor 6, resulting in an additional retarding action onthe ring gear 14. This retarding action is due to the resistance toreverse rotation of the primary reaction rotor 6 caused by the liquidflow occasioned by the direct rotation of the rotors 3, 4 and 9. Forcontrolling the action of the direct drive clutch 12, a centrifu'galforce flyball governor 13 is provided which comes into effect when theforces acting on the secondary reaction rotor 9 are such as to cause itto disconnect from the anchorage member 11 and rotate in the samedirection as the pump rotor. This action takes place some time after thefluid part of the transmission is automatically transformed from atorque converter to a fluid coupler.

As the speed of the shaft increases, the actuators 22 on the flyballgovernor will push the slide 23 to the left. This will actuate therockable switch 24 to cause the energization of the line 25 leading tothe controller 25 for the clutch 12. This will connect the turbine rotor4 to rotate directly with the pump rotor 3.

For controlling the brake 18 to effect a retarding action when thevehicle is driving the motor, the accelerator pedal 26 is so designedthat when the foot is removed from this accelerator pedal, it willconnect the power supply 27 with a line 28 leading to the control line29 for the brake 18.

If desired, a speed control device may be provided in series with theaccelerator pedal control so that the brake will not be applied toeffect a retarding action unless the vehicle speed is up to apredetermined amount. This speed controlled connection comprises aflyball governor 30 controlled by vehicle speed which when the speedreaches a certain amount, will bring the contact 31 into engagement withthe contact 32, thus connecting the lines 28 and 29. If the vehiclespeed is up to the predetermined degree, the acceleration pedal whenreleased will cause an additional retarding effect. If the speed isbelow the predetermined speed, the accelerator pedal will not beeffective to cause retardation.

If desired, a conventional overdrive may be provided at 32 between thedriven member of the clutch and the propeller shaft. Such a conventionaloverdrive is shown in a book entitled Torque Converters, copyright 1942,by P. M. Heldt, pages 216219, inclusive.

For manually controlling the establishment of forward, neutral, andreverse conditions, a manually controlled three-position lever 32 isprovided which in rear position engages the conductor 32 to connect theclutch for forward drive, in forward position engages the conductor 32to release the clutch 15 and apply the brake 18 for reverse drive, andin intermediate position disconnects both the clutch 15 and the brake 18for neutral.

Referring to Fig. 2, in this construction the torque converter,including the pump rotor 3, the turbine rotor 4, and the two reactancerotors 6 and 9, the clutch 12 for connecting the turbine rotor 4 to thepump rotor 3, the

gear, since planetary gearing, including the sun gear 8, the ring gear14, the gear carrier 16, the planet gears 19, the one-way anchor 11co-acting with the reactance rotor 9, the oneway anchor 17 co-actingwith the gear carrier 16, and the brake 18 co-acting with the gearcarrier 16, are substantially the same as in Fig. 1. A dog clutchconstruction which may be a synchronous clutch construction issubstituted for the clutch construction shown in Fig. 1.

The pump rotor 3 is keyed to the drive shaft 33 which may be driven fromthe motor. The turbine rotor 4 is keyed to an intermediate shaft 34 towhich is keyed one of the dog clutch members 35. The reactance rotor 6is keyed to a tubular shaft 36 with which the sun gear 8 rotates, whichshaft is provided with a dog clutch member 37 co-operating with theshiftable dog clutch member 38 and which is splined on the dog clutchmember 35. The ring gear 14 has a rearward extension 39 which is keyedto the propeller shaft 40. The rearward extension 39 is provided with adog clutch construction 41 co-operating with the shiftable dog clutchmember 38. The shiftable dog clutch member is operated by means of ayoke having arms 42 extending through openings in the rearward extension39 of the ring gear provided with inwardly-extending pins 43 engageablein an annular groove in the shiftable dog clutch member 38. Any suitablemeans may be provided for controlling the clutch 12 acting between thepump rotor and turbine rotor, for example, such as shown in Fig. 1.

The shiftable dog clutch member 38 has three positions, one for forward,one for neutral, and one for reverse. For forward drive, the dog clutchmember is placed in the position shown in Fig. 2 in which it connectsthe dog clutch member 35 on the turbine shaft with the ring gear 14. Forforward drive, the brake 18 will be in off-position. The operation forforward drive will be substantially as described in connection with Fig.l. The turbine 4 will exert torque on the propeller shaft 40 through theclutch 38. The reactance rotor 6 will at first rotate in reverse, andthrough the sun gear 37 and planet gears 19 will exert a forwardrotational effort on the ring gear 14 and propeller shaft 40 which willbe added to the forward rotational force exerted by the turbine rotor 4.As the relation of motor speed and torque to propeller shaft speed andtorque changes, the propeller shaft 4-0 will pick up in speed, thereactance on the reactance rotor 6 will decrease and become zero and thereactance rotor 6 will begin to rotate in a forward direction, at whichtime it will cease to exert force on the planet gears, as the gearcarrier 16 will then move away from the one-way anchor 17. The hydraulictorque converter, however, will still continue to function as a torqueconverter due to the reactance on the other reactance rotor 9 until thereactance on this reactance rotor 9 also becomes zero, at which time thehydraulic converter will be transformed into a hydraulic coupler.

For neutral, the slidable dog clutch member is shifted forwardly to aposition in which it is not in engagement either with the ring gearclutch 41 or with the (log clutch 37 which is rotatable with the sungear 8.

For reverse drive, the slidable dog clutch member 38 is shifted toengage it with the dog clutch member 37 rotatable with the sun gear 8,and the brake 18 is applied to hold the gear carrier 16 againstrotation. In this condition, the slidable dog clutch member 38 will bedisconnected from the ring gear clutch 41. The turbine rotor 4,reactance rotor 6, and sun gear 8 will rotate as a unit in a forwarddirection. As the gear carrier 16 is held against rotation by the brake18, the ring gear 14 and propeller shaft 40 will be rotated in reverse.

The retarding action of the brake 18 for slowing up for steep downgradesor on approaching a stop light may be controlledas disclosed inconnection with Fig. l.

The construction shown in Fig. 2 is similar to that shown in Fig. 2. Thepump rotor 3, turbine rotor 4, reactance rotors 6 and 9, one-way anchors11 and 17,

s nset ti 1. car i r-A hile ea l w- 2 s f h ake 4 a .sabstat i tt s emas shown iriFigfZ. In-i ig.,.2*-"thepump rotor 3 which may' be drivenfrom the engine is keyed to ashaft 44 whichextends rearwardlyjandhasisecured to its rear end a dog clutch member .45 co-operatingwiththe slidable' dog clutch member 46, splined on the clutch member 7 47,which is keyedto the shaft 48 on which theturbine rotor 4 is keyed.,This enables the turbine rotor 4to be secured to rotate directly withthe pump rotor when desired for direct drive;

,In this form the slidable clutch member 46 may occupy four differentpositions; one for reverse, one for neutral,

gear 8. The brake ,18 is applied and the sun gear 8, turbine 4, andreactancerotor 6 will rotate-forwardly,

causing reverse rotation of the ring gear -14 and consequent reverserotation of the propeller shaft 50 keyed to the ring gear.

For neutral, the slidable dog clutch member46 is shifted one steprearwardly. In this position the dog clutches are all disconnected andthe turbine rotor 4" can rotate .freely without exerting force on eitherthe sun gear 8 or the ring gear 14.

For forwardturbine drive, ,the slidable dog clutch member 46 is shiftedanother step, rearwardly. In this position the slidable dog clutchmember connects the dog clutch member 47 on the turbine shaft 48 withthe ring gear clutch 51.

.For drive direct from thepllmprotontthe slidable dog v clutch member 46is shifted to its rearrnost position'in which the clutch formation- 52on the slidable dog clutch h member will engage the dog clutch member 45on the pump shaft 44.

In the construction of Fig. 2%, a retarder action may i be effected by,applying the, brake 18 as described in V .eonnection with Figs. 1 and 2;

In the construction shownin Fig. 3,. the pump rotor 3,

the turbine rotor 4, the reactanceflrotors 6 and 9, the one-way anchor17, the gear carrier 16, the ring gear 14, f the sun gear 49, andtherearward extension 39 may be substantially the same as shown in Fig. 2In Fig. 3,

structure is shown: which enables an overdriveto be obtained. This isaccomplished by means of a clutch 'construction which enables theturbine rotor 4 to be "disconnected from the ringgear ,14 and connectedwith the gear carrier 16 and by means of a brake 53, which may beapplied to hold the sun gear49 against rotation.

A one-way clutch 54 is'provided between the reactance rotor 6 and thetubular sun gear shaft 55 which will enable the reactance rotor 6 todrivethe, sun, gear 49 when the reactance rotor'6 is rotating rever selywith respect to the pump rotor 3, but willehable the reactance rotor 6to overrun the sun gear shaft 55fwhen the reactance rotor 6 is rotatingin thesarne direction as the pump rotor 3 i and. the sun gear 49 is heldagainst rotation by the I brake 53.

Reactance rotor speed controlled means 56 are provided for applyingthebrake 53 to hold the sun gear 49 against rotation to effect overdrivewhen the vehicle speed reaches a certain degree and for rendering thisspeed I control means ineffective when the clutch construction 59 is setforreverse. Means 57 s are also provided, controlled by the acceleratorpedal 58, for releasing the V brake 53 if it is applied for overdrive,by depressing the accelerator pedal58 beyond its normaldepressedposition i and for releasing the sun gear 49 tocut out the overdrive:Iif the pedal accelerator is released and, the pedal 58 'nses to itsextreme upper position. rhs explaiiredhereinafter, release of the bralre.53 and gear 49 will cut out the overdrive, thus enabling themotor torun at high speed and the 'Jpropeller shaft at low speed ,and;high

' for forward with fluid drive, and one for direct and for overdrive.

In the reverse drive position the slidable clutch member is in itsforward position in which the slidable clutch member 59 connects theturbine dog clutch member,60 with the sun gear clutch member .62, andthe dog clutch member 63 is out of engagement with respectbothto thering gear dog clutch 64 and the pump shaft dog clutch 65; With thisposition of the dog clutch, when the brake 18 is applied and the turbinerotor 4 is in action, it will cause forwardrotation of the sun gear 49and reactance rotor 6. This will cause .reversesrotation of the ringgear 14 since the gearcarrier, 16 is held against rotation. This willcause reverse rotation of the propeller shaft 66, which is keyed totherearward extension 39 of the ring gear 14. For forward. fluid drivethe slidable clutch member 59 is shifted one step rearwardly,disconnecting the sun gear 49 from .the

turbine clutch 60 and connecting the slidable clutch member 63 with thedog clutch 64 on the ring gear extension 39. Thus the ring gear 14 isconstrained to rotate with the turbine rotor 4 for forward fluid drive.

For direct drive theslidable clutch member 59 is shifted another steprearwardly. This connects the clutch formation 67 ofthe sliding clutchmember with the .dog

clutch formation 68 on the rear extension of the gear carrier 16 anddisconnects the slidable. clutch member 63 from the ring gear clutch 64.Italso connects 'the dog clutch member 60 ,onthe turbinesleeve 61 with.the dog clutch member. 65 on1theshaft559 on which the pump rotor 3 iskeyed. This connects the gear carrier 16 to rotate directly with thepump rotor 3.

The sun gear. 49 is held against overrunningthe pu'mp rotor 3 andturbine rotor 4 to any great degree 'by reason of the one-Way clutchconnection 54 between ,the sun gear 49 and the reactance rotor, 6. Withthe clutch in this position, overdrive may be obtained by applying thebrake53 which will. hold ,the' sun gearii49 against rotation, causing anoverdrive of .the' ring gear ,14 and propeller shaft 66 keyed thereto.

' The automatic control for the application of the brake 53 forcontrolling overdrive comprises a centrifugal speed governor 56substantially like that shown in'Fi'g. lwhich, when the rotor9 reaches apredetermined speed, will energize the conductor 70 and a suitablesolenoid to cause the brake 53 to be applied. The circuit for thisconductor 70 may be broken by means of a switch 71 to release the brake53 and cut out the overdrive. This switch may. be controlled by means ofthe accelerator pedal' 58. If the vehicle is in overdrive and is beingdriven up a steep hill and it is desired for any reason to secure aburst of speed, the accelerator pedal 58 is pressed down beyond itsnormal position. This will energize a circuit 72 leading to a solenoid73 for the switch 71 and will release the brake 53 and cut out theoverdrive, thus enabling the motor to run at extreme high speed and withhigh torque. Means are also provided whereby if the vehicle is inoverdrive and a steep downgrade is encountered, release of theaccelerator pedal158 will automatically cut out the overdrive. This isaccomplished by a circuit 74 which is energized when the acceleratorpedal is released to open the switch 71 and release the brake. Means areprovided for preventing the application of this xbrake 53 whenthe dogclutch mechanism isset. for reverse, comprising a circuit 75 which islenerg ijz ed by grounding when the clutch actuatingfyoke 42 'is' infront position for reverse drive toopen.theswitchfl and release thebrake 53. x

Figs. 4, 5, and 6 indicate diagrammatically the positions which a manualcontrol lever may occupy for the various drive conditions correspondingto Figs. 2, 2 and 3, respectively. In these figures the letters R, N, F,D, and S correspond, respectively, to reverse, neutral, forward fiuiddrive, direct drive, and slow-down.

The construction shown in Fig. 7 is substantially like that shown inFig. 2 except that a two-way friction clutch is substituted for thetwo-way dog clutch of Fig. 2. The pump rotor 3, the turbine rotor 4, thereactance rotors 6 and 9, the clutch 12, the one-way anchors 11 and 17,the brake 18, the gear carrier 16 the planet gears 19, the ring gear 14,the sun gear 8, the shafts 36, 33, 34, and 40 may be the same as thoseshown in Fig. 2.

In place of the dog clutch control of Fig. 2, a twoway friction clutch76 is provided which, in one position, connects the ring gear 14 withthe turbine shaft 34 and, in another position, connects the sun gear 8with the turbine shaft 34.

The operation is the same as that in Fig. 2. When the clutch 76 isconnecting the ring gear 14 with the shaft 34 and the brake 18 isreleased, the transmission is in forward fluid drive. Direct drive wouldbe obtained by applying the clutch 4 to connect the turbine shaft 34direct with the pump rotor 3. For neutral, the two-way clutch 76 isoperated to connect with the friction plate 77 which is fixed to the sungear shaft 36. Under these conditions the turbine rotor 4, the reactancerotor 6, and probably the reactance rotor 9 will rotate freely alongwith the pump rotor 3, "but no torque will be exerted on the ring gear14 as the gear carrier 16 is free to rotate in a forward direction. Forreverse, the brake 18 is applied, whereupon reverse torque will beexerted immediately on the ring gear 14 to cause it to rotate in adirection reverse to that of the pump rotor 3, since the friction plate77 is fixed to the sun gear shaft 39 so that the sun gear will rotatewith the clutch 76 and turbine rotor 4.

In Fig. 8, which shows comparative speed, torque, and efiiciency curves,the first vertical column of figures A indicates the efiiciency inpercentage. The second vertical column of figures B indicates the engineR. P. M. in hundreds. The third vertical column of figures C indicatestorque ratio with respect to engine torque. The horizontal row offigures D at the bottom indicates turbine R. P. M. in hundreds. Thefull-line curve B indicates torque multiplication plotted againstturbine speed. The full-line curve F indicates engine R. P. M. Thefull-line curve G indicates efficiency plotted against turbine R. P. M.The above curves E, F, and G are the curves obtained without the use ofthe planetary booster including the gearing 8, 14, 16 and 19, the clutch15, the oneway anchorage device 17 and the brake i8 and with a one-wayanchorage for the primary reactance rotor 6 which may be similar to theone-way anchorage 11 used for the secondary reactance rotor 9. Thedot-dash lines H and I indicate the improvement in efficiency and torqueobtained by the use of the planetary torque booster. These curvesmaterially increase the pickup and efiiciency of the transmission andgive a jerkless infinitesimally variable torque curve from stalling tocoupling.

The points of intersection of the dot-dash curves H and I with thefull-line curves G and E indicate the turbine speed at which the primaryreactance rotor will have ceased to rotate reversely and have come to astandstill. From this point on the etficiency and torque curves will bethe same as if the primary reactance rotor had been provided with aone-way reactance member. Prior to this point the primary reactancerotor 6, in rotating reversely, will have caused a reverse reactance onthe secondary reactance rotor 9 which, in turn, would cause an increasein torque on the turbine rotor 4.

Referring to Fig. 9, the construction shown therein comprises animproved combination of combine and torque converter in which theinternal combustion engine and the cylinder of the combine will bedriven at substantially constant synchronous speed and the tractor ofthe combine will be driven at an automatically infinitesimally variablespeed and with an automatically infinitesimally variable torque from theconstant speed engine by means of a hydraulic torque converter.

In tractor-propelled combines, it may be desirable to maintain theengine speed substantially constant and to drive the threshing cylinderand perhaps the sickle also in synchronism with the engine and toprovide an automatically infinitesimally variable speed hydraulic torqueconverter driven from the engine and driving the drive wheels of thetractor. In combines, in general, it is desirable to maintain the speedof the cylinder substantially constant in order to do satisfactory work.It is, however, desirable to provide automatically variable speed andtorque ratio between the engine and the drive wheels of the tractor totake care of the wide variations in load on the engine due to variationsin the gradient, condition of the roadway, crop yield, etc.

The hydraulic torque converter 1 is in general similar to the torqueconverter 1 shown in Fig. 1. It is combined with a planetarytransmission 2 and associated parts. The hydraulic torque convertercomprises a pump rotor 3 which may be driven direct from the internalcombustion engine 3*, a turbine rotor 4 secured to a drive shaft 5 aprimary reaction rotor 6a secured to a shaft 7, and provided with a sungear 8 rotatable therewith, and a secondary reaction stator 9 secured toa shaft 10 coaxial with the shaft 7 and held against rotation reverse tothe pump rotor 3 by means of a one-way anchorage device 11 A clutch 12is provided which may be used for connecting the turbine rotor 4 to thepump rotor 3- to eliminate the torque converter action for direct drive.A clutch 12 is provided which may be used for connecting the reactionrotor 6 to the turbine rotor 4 The planetary gearing comprises the sungear 8', a ring gear 14 connectible and disconnectible with respect tothe turbine shaft 5 by means of a manually controllable clutch 15 thegear carrier 16 held against reverse rotation in the direction of thepump rotor 3 by means of a one-way anchorage device 17 and held againstany rotation whatever by means of a manually controllable brake 18 andplanet gears 19 rotatably mounted on the gear carrier 16 on shafts 20and meshing with the sun gear 8 and ring gear 14.

In use, assuming that the transmission is used in a motor vehicle andthat the motor vehicle is standing still, the pump rotor 3 will causeforward rotation of the turbine rotor 4 and will exert a reverserotational force on the primary and secondary reactance rotors 6 and 9.The reverse torque on the secondary rotor 9 which is held againstreverse rotation by the one-way anchor 11 will cause a correspondingincrease in the forward torque on the turbine 4 The reverse rotationaltorque exerted on the primary reaction rotor 6"- will exert acorresponding reverse rotational force on the sun gear 8 which willcause a greatly increased forward rotational torque to be exerted on thering gear 14*, since the gear carrier 16 is held against rotation by theone-way anchorage device 17 It is assumed that in forward drive the ringgear which drives the propeller shaft is also connected with the turbineshaft 5 by means of the clutch 15 The combined torque on the propellershaft will therefore be the torque exerted by the turbine rotor 4 plusthe torque exerted on the ring gear 14 by the reverse rotation of theprimary reactance rotor as described above. Typical curves such as mightbe secured by the torque converter shown with the primary reactancerotor held against reverse rotation by a one-way anchorage member, ascompared with the construction actually shown in Fig. l, are shown inFig. 8. As there indicated, applicants construction may givesubstantially twice the original starting torque with an infinitesimallyvariable speed ratio from its high starting torque up to fluid coupling,said results in a great improvement in the lower portion of theefficiency' and torque curves,

assume For reverse drive, assuming that the vehicle is standing still,the clutch 15 is disconnected, thereby disconnecting the propeller shaftfrom the turbine shaft In this condition the transmission will be inneutral, no force being exerted thereon because of the disconnection ofthe clutch For reversethe brake 18 is applied by suitable manualcontrols. Under these conditions, since the pump and the three rotors 4,6 and 9 are acting as a fluid coupling flywheel, the primary reactionrotor 6 will act as a fluid coupling member of the fly-wheel and willcause forward rotation thereof and of the sun gear rotatable therewith.This will cause reverse rotation of the ring gear, since the gearcarrier is held against rotation.

In going down a steep hill, the accelerator pedal will usually bereleased and the vehicle wil have to drive the motor rather than themotor driving the vehicle. Under these conditions, in order to preventthe vehicle from going too fast downhill, an additional retarding actionis brought into play by making the transmission so that if a certainspeed is execeeded and the accelerator pedal is released, the brake willbe applied. This application of the brake 18 will cause the forwardrotation of the ring gear 14 to cause a high speed reverse rotation ofthe sun gear 8 and a consequent high speed reverse rotation of theprimary reaction rotor 6, resulting in an additional retarding action onthe ring gear 14. This retarding action is due to the resistance toreverse rotation of the primary reaction rotor 6 caused by the liquidflow occasioned by the direct rotation of the rotors 3, 4 and 9.

The engine 3 for driving the pump rotor 3 comprises the crankshaft 3with which the pump rotor 1 is rotatable.

The apparatus by which the internal combustion engine 3* will be drivenat substantially constant speed regardless of the load on the enginecomprises a gear 21 rotatable with the crankshaft 3 and coaxialtherewith, a gear 21 driven from the gear 21, a governor shaft 21coaxial with the gear 21, a flyball governor 21 coaxial with thegovernor shaft and having a sleeve surrounding the shaft 21 andreciprocable back and forth in accordance with the position of the balls21 of the flyball governor, a lever 21 pivotally mounted at 21 andhaving one end lying between the flanges 21 of the sleeve 21 androckable back and forth about the pivot 21, a link 21 pivotallyconnected at 21 to one end of the upper end of the rock lever and abutterfly throttle valve 21 pivotally mounted at 21 in the manifold orgas conduit 21 and rocked back and forth by the reciprocation of thelink 2.1 secured to an arm thereof. The proportions of these partsshould be such that the speed of the engine will be maintained close tothe desired speed. If the speed of the engine increases above thedesired average, flyball governor 21 will cause the throttle valve 21 tochoke the gas flow in the manifold 21 to prevent the engine speedbecoming excessively high. On the other hand, if, by reason of increasedload or other causes, the engine is slowed down, the action of thegovernor 21 will cause the throttle valve to open wider and thus preventthe engine speed from becoming excessively low.

In order to synchronize the rotatable threshing cylinder 22 with respectto the engine 3, a gear 22 is secured to the extension of the crankshaft3 coaxially therewith, with which meshes a gear 22 rotatable about anaxis 22 parallel to the shaft 3, with which gear 22 meshes a spur gear22 secured to a shaft 22 having its axis parallel to the axis 22 andhaving a beveled pinion 22 mounted thereon and coaxial therewith whichdrives a bevel pinion 22. secured to the shaft of the threshing cylinder22.

In order to keep the sickle 23 reciprocating and in synchronism with theengine 3, a connecting rod 23 is pivotally secured to the journal 23extending from the spur gear 22 The other end of this connecting rod 23is pivotally secured at 23 between the arms of the yoke 23 secured tothe reciprocable sickle 23.

In'order toprovide an overdrive from thering gear 14 to the drive wheels24, a planetary gear construction 24 is provided. This planetary gearconstruction comprises a gear carrier 24 secured to rotate with thedrive shaft 24 to which the ring gear 2 is secured, the planet pinions24 mounted on the gear carrier 24, the ring gear 24f secured to theshaft 25 which drives the drive wheels 24, the sun gear -24 rotatablymounted on the shaft 24 and meshing with the planet gears 24, and aclutch mem ber24 rotatable with the shaft 24 and capable of connectingthe shaft 24 either with the clutch element 24 on the sun gear or withthe fixed clutch element 24*.

Operation of Fig. 9

The combustion engine 3 has a'right-hand output shaft 3 and a left-handoutput shaft 3. The left-hand output shaft 3 supplies the power fordriving the threshing cylinder 22, the sickle 23 and the speedcontrolling governor 21 which controls the movement of the speedcontrolling carburetor valve 21. The right-hand power output shaft 3 hassecured thereto the pump rotor 3 which, in cooperation with the reactionrotors 6 and 72, supply power to rotate the turbine rotor 4 which issecured to the drive shaft 5. ln proceeding from a standing start, asthetpump rotor picks up in speed, both of the reaction members of thereaction rotors 6 and 9 will react to urge the turbine rotor to rotatein the same direction as the. pump rotor. The reaction rotor 6 willexert an additional force urging the turbine rotor to rotate in the samedirection as the pump rotor if the clutch 15 is in position to connectthe shaft 5 with the ring gear 14 as the reaction rotor 6a will becaused by fluid pressure to rotate in a direction reverse to that of thepump rotor' 1. This will cause reverse rotation of the sun gear 8..

As the gear carrier 16 is held against reverse rotation by' the one-wayclutch 17, the reverse rotation of the sun: gear 8 will cause a forwardrotation of the ring gear 14 and of the shaft 24 to which the ring gear14 is se'-- cured. As the engine and pump rotor pick up in speed, thereversible stator 6 will slow down in its reverse: movement due to thechange in fluid pressure, come to a. stop and then proceed to rotate inthe same direction. as the pump rotor. The speed of the reaction rotors6 and 9 and of the turbine rotor 4 will continue to pick. up in speeduntil all three of them will eventually ap-- proximate the speed of thepump rotor 3. Eventually therefore the shaft 24 will be rotating atapproximately the speed of the right-hand output shaft 3 of the motor..

The gear transmission between the shaft 24 and the: shaft 25 whichdrives the drive Wheel 24 can be set so that the shaft 23 will be drivenin the same direction at the same speed as the shaft 24 or can be set sothat the shaft 25 will be driven at a slower speed than the shaft 24This variable speed transmission is set for direct forward drivebyconnecting the shaft 25 to rotate in unison'with-the shaft 24 which isconnected to rotate in unison with the shaft 5 by means of the clutch 15engaging the ring gear 14. This is accomplished by throwing in theclutch 24 which rotates with the shaft 24 to connect it with the clutchplate 24 This connects the sun gear 24 to rotate with the shaft 24 Asthe gear carrier 24 is keyed to theshaft 24, the planetary will rotateas a unit without relative rotation of the elements and give aone-to-one drive from the drive shaft 5 throughthe drive shaft 24 to theshaft 25 which drives the drive wheel 24.

In Fig 10 the drive from the shaft 3dvto the pump rotor 78 and shaftcomprises a pinion carrier 3 secured to rotate with the shaft 3 a pinion3 rotatably mounted on the pinion carrier 3, a ring gear 3 secured torotate with the pump rotor 78, and a sun gear 3 meshing with the pinion3 and secured to rotate with the shaft 95 and turbine rotor 79.

If desired, the engine 3 of Fig. 9 may have the righthand end of itsshaft 3 connected to drive the left-hand 1 1 end of the shaft 3 whichdrives the automatically infinitesimally variable torque converter 78which drives the shaft 94 of Fig. and the drive wheel 89.

The disclosure in Fig. 10 comprises a three rotor torque convertercomprising a pump rotor 78, a turbine rotor 79 and a two-way rotatablereactor 80, a tubular shaft 80 rotatable with the reactor 80, aplanetary gear transmission comprising a sun gear 81 rotatable with thetwoway rotatable reactor 80 and shaft 80', a ring gear 82 connectibleand disconnectible with respect to the turbine rotor 83 by means of aclutch 84, a pinion carrier 85 held against reverse rotation by theone-way anchorage member 86, a pinion 87 rotatably mounted on the pinioncarrier 85 and meshing with the sun gear 81 and ring gear 82, brakemeans 88 for holding the pinion carrier 85 against rotation for reverseand for braking the coasting action, and an underdrive between the ringgear 82 and ground-engaging drive wheel 89 comprising a second ring gear90 rotatable with the first ring gear 82, a second pinion 91 meshingwith said second ring gear 90, a second pinion carrier 92 on which thesecond pinion 91 is mounted, a second sun gear 93 meshing with saidsecond pinion 91, a shaft 94 coaxial with the shaft 95 to which theturbine rotor 79 is secured, said second sun gear 93 being rotatablerelative to said shaft 94, said second gear carrier 92 being keyed tosaid shaft 94, and a two-way clutch 96 for alternatively connecting saidsun gear 93 with the second gear carrier 92 and with a relatively fixedmember 97.

Operation of Fig. 10

In Fig. 10, if the clutch 84 is connected with the ring gear 82, thereare three power flow paths between the drive shaft 3 and the ring gear.One of these paths is from the drive shaft 3 through the pinion carrier3 pinion 3 pump rotor 78, turbine rotor 79, shaft 95 and clutch 84 tothe ring gear 82. A second power path is from the drive shaft 3*, pinioncarrier 3 pinion 3 sun gear 3 shaft 95 and clutch 84 to the ring gear82. A third is from the drive shaft 3, pinion carrier 3e, pinion 3, ringgear 3 pump rotor 78, rotatable reactor 80, shaft 80 sun gear 81 andpinion 87 to the ring gear 82, the pinion carrier 85 being held againstreverse rotation by the one-way anchorage member 86.

For reverse rotation, the clutch 84 is thrown out and the brake 88 isapplied to hold the pinion carrier 85 against rotation. Under theseconditions, the two-way rotatable reactor will be forced to rotate inreverse, driving the ring gear 82 in a direction of rotation opposite tothat of the pump rotor 78.

There are two alternatively usable power paths from the ring gear 82 tothe drive wheel 89. The drive wheel 89 is driven in synchronism with theshaft 94. The shaft 94 may, in one condition of the transmission, bedriven at the same rotational speed as the ring gear and, in anothercondition of the transmission, at a speed different from that of thering gear 82. For equal rotational speed, the two-way clutch isconnected to rotate in unison with the pinion carrier 92, thus causingthe planetary gearing 91 and 93 to rotate as a unit and thereforecausing the ring gear 82 and shaft 94 to rotate as a unit.

In order to cause the shaft 94 to rotate at a lower rotational speedthan the ring gear 82, the clutch 96 is connected with the fixed member97, thus holding the sun gear 93 against rotation. This will cause thepinion carrier 92 to rotate at a lower speed than that of the ring gear82 and will hence cause the shaft 94 to rotate at a lower speed than thegear 82.

Further modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art andit is desired, therefore, that the invention be limited only by thescope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

1. A hydraulic torque converter planetary gear transmission, said torqueconverter comprising a pump rotor,

a turbine rotor, two guide reactance rotors, said planetary geartransmission comprising a rotatable planet gear carrier, planet gearingcarried thereby, and two coaxial gears meshing with said planet gearingdesigned so that when the gear carrier is held against rotation and oneof said gears is rotated in one direction, the other gear will berotated in the opposite direction, means for connecting anddisconnecting one of said gears for rotation with respect to saidturbine rotor, means for connecting the other of said gears with one ofsaid guide reactance rotors, one-way anchorage means preventing rotationof the other of said guide reactance rotors and said gear carrier in adirection reverse to that of the turbine rotor and enabling rotation ofsaid other guide reactance rotor and gear carrier in the same directionas the turbine rotor, and means for holding said gear carrier againstrotation in the same direction as said turbine rotor.

2. A hydraulic torque converter planetary gear transmission, said torqueconverter comprising a pump rotor, a turbine rotor, two guide reactancerotors, said planetary gear transmission comprising a rotatable planetgear carrier, planet gearing carried thereby, and two coaxial gearsmeshing with said planet gearing designed so that when the gear carrieris held against rotation and one of said gears is rotated in onedirection, the other gear will be rotated in the opposite direction,means for connecting and disconnecting one of said gears for rotationwith respect to said turbine rotor, means for connecting the other ofsaid gears with one of said guide reactance rotors, one-way anchoragemeans preventing rotation of the other of said guide reactance rotorsand said gear carrier in a direction reverse to that of turbine rotorand enabling rotation of said other guide reactance rotor and gearcarrier in the same direction as the turbine rotor, means for holdingsaid gear carrier against rotation in the same direction as said turbinerotor, manually controlled means for controlling said holding means andsaid connecting and disconnecting means for forward and reverse, pedalmeans for varying the power flow to said pump rotor, means controlled bythe release of the pedal means for applying said holding means, meansfor connecting and disconnecting said turbine rotor with respect to saidpump rotor, and speed controlled means controlled by the rotation ofsaid other reactance rotor for controlling the last said connecting anddisconnecting means.

3. A hydraulic torque converter planetary gear transmission, said torqueconverter comprising a pump rotor, a turbine rotor, a two-way rotatable.reversible reactance rotor, said planetary gear transmission comprisinga rotatable planet gear carrier, planet gearing carried there by, andtwo coaxial gears meshing with said planet gearing designed so that whenthe gear carrier is held against rotation and one of said gears isrotated in one direction, the other gear will be rotated in the oppositedirection, means for connecting and disconnecting one of said gears forrotation with respect to the turbine rotor, means for connecting theother of said gears with said reactance rotor, one-way anchorage meanspreventing rotation of said gear carrier in a direction reverse to thatof the turbine rotor and enabling rotation of said gear carrier in thesame direction as the turbine rotor, and means for holding said gearcarrier against rotation in the same direction as said turbine rotorwhen said one gear is disconnected for reverse.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,005,444 Weiss June 18, 1935 2,293,358 Pollard Aug. 18, 1942 2,324,308Malrnquist July 13, 1943 2,549,125 Paton Apr. 17, 1951 2,578,450 PollardDec. 11, 1951 2,624,215 McRae Jan. 6, 1953 2,676,497 Ahlen Apr. 27, 1954

